RIVERS GOING DOWN
RAPIDLY !!
Surface Action Starting
bring emerges, caddis, and soft hackles too
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.. Cool weather and cloudy overcast days for the weekend will bring the faithful to the Firehole River. The chance of snow won't hurt either. Catching won't be great, (it will be good.)
.. The river's temperature is finally beginning to rise and the typical assortment of bugs is finally making it's appearance. You'll need the whole box for this weekend.
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. Expect emergers in the film, followed by nymphs, (on point,) to be the most productive in the colored water. However, some segments of the Firehole River show visibility to 4'... Baetis are still around and PMD's are coming off in good numbers. If the fish can see them they will take them. Bring some caddis and small streamers too.
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.. The quick rise and fall of the Gibbon River has produced an abundance of displaced food items in the river. The canyon has come alive with eager fish and the water is clearing rapidly.
.. Runs, riffles, and pocket water fishing is great fun in this section of the stream. There is going to be some parking problems, and the bridge construction will be a nuisance, but the fishing is going to be augmented by the good catching opportunities.
.. This will be the place to use traditional attractors, (both on the surface and below.) How about a pair of coachmen?.. Coachman on point with a Royal Coachman on the surface should return you to the days of yesteryear.
.. Elk Park and Gibbon Meadows are awfully spongy, (to say nothing of the bison,) and will provide catching opportunities to the careful fisher. Small streamers under the banks will take fish. If that fails you a soft
hackle pair just might do the trick... The little meadows above Virginia Cascades are ripe and getting riper by the hour. Small, (and other,) fish are eagerly feeding on the bits of debris coming down from the lakes. It's always satisfying to take some beautiful Brook Trout while basking in the warm gray afternoon.
.. A pair of traditional wet flies, (10 to 12 inches apart,) should provide some fun here. Stick with small coachmen: Royals and originals would be good if you keep them in the size 10-14 range.-----
.. The Madison River is ugly but the catching is picking up. It's still mostly a streamer and soft hackle proposition but if it warms a bit the bugs should bring the fish up... There are good opportunities around National Park Meadows. The Firehole River has pumped stonefly nymphs down into the Madison River.
Use your favorite rubber legs attractors and there should be action... The islands around 9-mile Hole have some early, clear & gentle water areas. Savvy neighbors wade across the river way down low and fish up the seldom-trodden bank. There is no real need to get in the water once the river is crossed. Pick a wide shallow spot and use your staff. It's still a bit chancy. Young legs will do best in this water.
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.. The tip of the weekend is the Gallatin River above the Fan Creek confluence. Don't fish here. It's way too cold, the willows are a nuisance, and nobody ever catches fish until July. We warned you to stay away. After all everybody is on the Firehole River, shouldn't you be there?-------
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